SDCC: "The Batman" brings Robin, Oracle, Nightwing, and more

Pictured: The Batman Family! Cast members Evan Sabara (Robin), Rino Romano (voice of Batman), and Danielle Judovits (Batgirl).

Warner Bros. Animation’s Emmy-winning action adventure series The Batman returns for a third season this fall, airing Saturdays at 11:30 AM in the Kids’ WB! programming block on the new CW. The Studio showed selected scenes from the upcoming season, which will feature Robin joining the Dark Knight in his relentless quest to rid Gotham City of its supervillains, followed by a Q&A featuring supervising producer Michael Goguen (The Batman vs. Dracula: The Animated Movie), producer/art director Jeff Matsuda (The Batman vs. Dracula: The Animated Movie), story editor Michael Jelenic (Jackie Chan Adventures), and other members of the production team, as well as cast members Rino Romano (voice of Batman), Evan Sabara (Robin) and Danielle Judovits (Batgirl).

The sizzle reel was very interesting. We saw premiere designs of new villains like Harley Quinn (voiced by Hynden Walch, voice of Starfire); a new Clayface (voiced by Wallace Langham); Killer Moth (Jeff Bennett); and Black Mask (James Remar). There is also a new villain created for the show, Everywhere Man, who will be voiced by Brandon Routh. The Harley episode will be written by Paul Dini. Harley is only scheduled for one episode in season four. Clayface is a new take on the character, that seems to incorporate the Matt Hagan version of Clayface - the actor.

One of the most intriguing parts of the teaser was a segment that showed Gotham City in 2027. Oracle (yes, Oracle) called the Bat-team together. They showed an image of an adult Barbara Gordon in a wheelchair, as she called Robin. But "Robin's" answer was this: "I havent gone by Robin in a long, long time. Call me Nightwing." As this ran, they showed the character design for Nightwing, which looked like a combination of the Bruce Timm/Glen Murakami design with the curent comic book design. When Oracle called Batman, they showed a design that looked very influenced by Frank Miller. The special storyline will be featured in an upcoming episode in season four.

Also, in season four, expect to see The Martian Manhunter (voiced by Darian Harwood) and the Flash. By the end of season four, the staff hinted that Batman would be poised to join the Justice League.

As previously announced, Robin is joining the cast in season four. They will do a full treatment of Dick Grayson's origin with the Flying Graysons. And the voice of Robin's father is provided by Kevin Conroy. Expect some "sibling rivalry" between Robin and Batgirl - as Batgirl is a bit jealous of Batman's new partner.

The staff also thought that the fourth season would be more fan-friendly than previous seasons. Beyond Robin, Nightwing, Flash, Martian Manhunter and a DARK KNIGHT homage, the series also welcomed some new writers to pen some episodes, including some former BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER scribes like Doug Petrie.

One fan asked about the similarity of THE BATMAN's Robin to TEEN TITANS's Robin. The staff noted the similarity but mentioned that this series will show Robin from the beginning. When the possibility of a Teen Titans crossover was mentioned, the panel positioned it to the fans; "Do you WANT to see a Teen Titans crossover?" Not surprisingly, the crowd cheered.

All in all, the fourth season of THE BATMAN promises to be the best yet!